It is generally known in the automotive vehicle design arts that it is desirable to configure components arranged within the passenger compartment of the vehicle to reduce adverse effects on the vehicle occupants when subjected to high forces that are experienced in a collision. While many vehicle interior components facing the vehicle occupants are designed to minimize the forces during a collision impact, foot pedal assemblies, such as the brake pedal assembly which is generally positioned below the instrument panel of the vehicle in the driver's compartment, may transfer collision caused impact forces to the driver's leg. Likewise, the reaction of the occupant in the collision can force the occupant's legs into the foot pedal controls.
Conventional foot pedal assemblies, such as the brake pedal, clutch pedal, and acceleration pedal assemblies, are commonly assembled together in a pedal box assembly which typically is rigidly connected to the vehicle dash. Foot pedal assemblies employed with hydraulic fluid actuated systems, such as the brake pedal assembly, generally have a foot pedal pad connected to a pedal lever which in turn is assembled to a booster piston push rod. Axial actuation of the piston push rod, with assist from the vacuum booster, compresses a master cylinder which, in turn, generates hydraulic fluid pressure. During a frontal load imposition, such as that experienced during a severe frontal collision, vehicle impact forces may be instantly transmitted through the brake actuation system to the occupant.
One approach to minimizing such forces during a severe frontal collision includes structurally connecting the pedal box assembly to a cowl structure which remains relatively stable relative to the dash panel. With the pedal box assembly structurally connected to the cowl structure, relative movement can be made to cause a failure in the structure supporting the pivots of the pedal box assembly, thus allowing the pedals to move freely with little constraint following a severe frontal collision. Other approaches have included the use of mechanical connections, such as a cable, between the cowl or some other relatively stable structure, and the pedal box. With these approaches, the deflection of the pedal assembly relative to the stable structure during a severe frontal collision is used to actively depress the pedal through the action of the aforementioned mechanical connection. However, the aforementioned approaches significantly increase the cost and complexity of the pedal box assembly and may render the pedal assemblies inoperative following a vehicle collision.
Accordingly, there exists a need, heretofore unfulfilled, for a cost efficient pedal assembly for use in a vehicle, that reduces the intrusion forces imparted to an occupant of the vehicle, and which reduces the forces imparted upon the occupant as the occupant reacts against the pedal assembly, during a collision event.